A spectacular theft has taken place at a museum in Vienna. Thieves stole a lavish necklace by French jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels from the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK). The piece is valued at $4.3 million and was one of the central exhibits in an exhibition dedicated to fine jewelry.

According to police, two men entered the museum. They purchased regular tickets, did not conceal their faces and initially behaved like ordinary visitors. At one point, however, they pulled out a hammer, smashed the protective display case, grabbed the necklace and fled. Security guards were unable to stop them in time.

 

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According to Austrian media reports, the robbery may have been carefully planned in advance. Krone reports that the theft may have been carried out on behalf of a criminal group from the Balkans.

The stolen piece is far more than simply an expensive jewel. The Van Cleef & Arpels necklace has a history spanning almost a century and is connected to the Egyptian royal family. It was created in 1939, and that same year Sultanine Nazli Sabri wore the necklace to her daughter Fauzia’s wedding.

The necklace is crafted from platinum and set with 673 diamonds weighing more than 200 carats in total. In 2015, the historic piece was sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $4.3 million.

 

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The jewel had recently returned to the spotlight as part of «Glanzstücke», an exhibition dedicated to the work of Van Cleef & Arpels. The exhibition opened in June and was scheduled to run until September 27.

For the exhibition, the jewelry house had loaned around 300 pieces to the museum, while approximately 200 additional jewelry pieces and objects came from the MAK’s own collection. Following the brazen theft, the exhibition was closed until further notice.

 

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